Avoiding Caffeine Before Hiking

Video Transcript

"Something else that's really, really important, is to try to wean yourself off of caffeine. It may sound difficult, but it's one of the most important things that you can do, in order to prepare yourself for going to the back country. The reason for that is, caffeine is a diuretic, and it causes you to become dehydrated, so you need to get yourself off of that, because once you get into the mountains, if you're dependent on caffeine, well, one if you don't have caffeine and you're dependent on it, you're going to have headaches all the time. Two, if you're dependent on caffeine, and then you bring like instant coffee or something, you're going to be losing all that water that you're drinking and sweating out, and the air is already really, really dry, so it's easy to get dehydrated already. Sodas are also really, really bad, because not only does the caffeine dehydrate you, but the carbonation will also dehydrate you, and so try to force yourself to get off of caffeine. Don't let yourself be needing it when you go on your trip, because you don't want to be uncomfortable, having headaches every morning when you wake up, or be drinking it, and basically, losing all that water. You already have to purify all that water too, so please, please, please, try to get yourself off of caffeine, before you go on your backpacking trip."